Four Days, One Mistake

I messed up.  But not until the last day.

 

Bob got four days, 96 hours OFF:  No traffic. No yellow vests or steel-toed boots. No stacks of "packages" with the ever-cheerful "Must Be Reviewed Yesterday" stickers.  No no-work-talk-allowed-by-unspoken-agreement lunches, "tea boys" bearing coffee or surprise visits from plan-wielding contractors.  Go, they said.  Play. Rest. Relax.

 

With a little pressure from The Wife, Bob decided to do what few others did: stay in town.  No planes to catch, money to exchange, rising early to make the short lines.  Instead, we'd sleep, watch movies, drink, eat. Drive into the country.  See stuff Bob couldn't normally see because everything's closed on Friday - his only day off.

 

But…Relax?  This is a language Bob speaks only sporadically.
 

Searching for Relax

'

We started out slow by sleeping in:

 

Inland Sea camping the weekend before :)

 

And moved on to exploring, discovering, beach-finding:

 

men wear swimsuits, but women who cover dress in abayas, even at the beach

 

We saw weird stuff:

 

kit-copter?

 

Checked out heritage sites:

 

follow the signs

 

Toured Zubarah Fort

 

undergoing restoration: among the few full forts remaining here

 

and Film City, a (mostly) historically accurate walled town created for a television show (JOE BRING A PROJECT TO DOHA) built in an isolated area at the heart of the peninsula, surrounded by sand, rock and a natural oasis (difficult to find unless it's in your gps):

 

Film City: SERIOUSLY COOL

 

Wandered this wide expanse of empty-appearing desert:

 

think about it: where you gonna pee?

 

Met camels (we're told there are wild camels in the desert, although we haven't seen any...yet):

 

Saliva drenched kiss, yum

 

And watched nighttime crowds promenade from our balcony.

 

The Pearl: a great place to walk, sight-see, meet & greet

 

And on the last day, a holiday highlight: Missouri's own Adorable Super Couple, Curtis and Mary Gentile joined us at the Pearl's little beach for sun, fun, friendship, good conversation.

 

Are they beautiful or what??

 

Sun shone.  Water glittered.  West Bay's tall, twisted, uniquely shaped towers watched from the horizon.  Bob left his shady place under the umbrella, picked up a floaty…and entered the water.

 

He paddled.  He floated.  He slept. He…relaxed.

 

There are no pictures because I didn't bring my camera; OOPS and DARNIT!!  But I'm not sorry; I'm not! Because I relaxed too.

 

Awwww